Two Days
by Chiqueachu
Summary: Ash and Misty meet for a simple dinner. Well, to Ash it's simple, but Misty miiight have misinterpreted some things... Pokeshippy. Ash's clueless POV.
1. Part 1

A/N: First pokeshipping story on this site. Would really appreciate the reviews to remind me how not dead this fandom is. ;)

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 **Two Days** , a pokeshipping fan fiction.

 **Part One.**

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It's a humid day, so I'm not sure why the waitress glares at me as I hold the glass up to summon my thirteenth refill of water. This stupid patio barely shields Pikachu and I from the sun. I can feel his tummy growing damp on my shoulder as the minutes progress. A little gross, but I have no room to talk. I'm almost positive that if I remove my hat, a waterfall of sweat will drown my head.

Nothing me and my buddy can't handle, though. We're used to rougher terrain. Honestly I really can't remember the last time I even showered. Judging by the scrunching of the waitress's nose, I think she's also trying to figure that out.

I fumble with the eight page menu in my hand, wondering what half of the terms even mean. "Excuse me." I signal to the waitress again, and her face contorts into one of an angry jigglypuff. "Is there an… English version of this?"

"It _is_ English," she hisses in her fancy Kalos accent.

I frown. "Are there any cheeseburgers?"

"No," she says after a long pause. "There are no _cheeseburgers_ at _La Coquille Bleue's, a five star seafood_ restaurant."

"Dang," I sigh. "Well, can I at least get a seat inside while I figure this out? It's really warm and it's hard to think-"

"No, no, no." she waves a hand at me. "Uh… your mouse is not allowed inside, you see."

I make a face, glancing into the windows of the restaurant, where plenty of cheery people sit with their even cheerier pokemon. Do we really smell that bad?

Before I can respond, a bloom of red hair shines in the glass, and I jump to my feet, pushing the waitress to the side in the process.

"Misty! I'm over here!"

At first she pauses before turning around to face me. And I frown for a moment. Because-well, while it is indeed Misty, she doesn't quite look like Misty.

First of all, her hair is down. Not that I minded, but she rarely leaves it out of its usual ponytail. Second of all, she's wearing a dress. Again, I could care less, but Misty in a dress is such a rarity that sometimes I forget she's actually a girl until I see something like this flowery purple getup in front of me. Third of all-okay, well, this part _does_ still look like Misty because she looks like she's about to kill me. I haven't seen her in, like, a year, but this expression is probably the only reason I'm sure it's really Misty in front of me.

But still, why is she so dressed up? She can't be comfortable in that thing. It's hugging her waist _very_ tightly-wait, what?

" _Ash. Ketchum._ "

I regain focus. Was I spacing?

"Uh, yeah?"

She marches towards the table, but she doesn't take a seat. As she nears, I get a better view of her eyes. They're more fiery than any Charizard tail I've ever seen. But even more interesting-she's wearing _make-up_. Make-up! I've never seen-

"I thought you were going to pick me up," she says sternly. An odd way to greet me for sure because something like this shouldn't be such a big deal. Maybe walking here in a tight dress made her cranky. Seriously. Can she even breathe in that thing?

The waitress glances quickly between us, as if trying to comprehend something before taking her opportunity to leave. I gulp. WIth no one but Pikachu for a witness, I'm not sure what Misty would do to me.

"I got lost," I reply. "I couldn't find the hotel."

And it was true. Kind of. This city is huge, there's at least twenty hotels here I can't pronounce, or even locate on a map. And for the life of me, I couldn't remember where Misty mentioned she would be staying.

"You could've called to tell me that maybe."

She's right there. I could've called, absolutely. But I also know Misty is smart enough to show up at La Coquille Bleue if I hadn't picked her up by five like I originally planned. So I'm not sure why she sounds as angry. It isn't a big deal; we all still made it here. Or at least _I_ made it here because she still hasn't officially sat down or even smiled. Maybe it would just be Pikachu and I after all.

Her eyes glimpse over at Pikachu, and maybe it was just me, but she looks almost… surprised to see him there. Which made the littlest sense of all. I personally find it weird if there _isn't_ this constant little weight curled up around my neck.

As if on queue, Pikachu bolts into her arms. Whatever strange expression Misty originally had vanishes almost instantly. Her first genuine smile, and I'm kind of mad I'm not the one to cause it. She didn't come all this way to see _Pikachu_ , right?

"So nice to see you, Pikachu!" she giggles as I frown. Or maybe she had.

" _Pikachupi!"_

"What about me?" I complain, and she freezes in their embrace to eye me over. I'm suddenly a little self conscious. I didn't mind the gawking from other customers over my attire. But seeing Misty looking all nice-er, fancy- in a dress… I glance at the dirt on my knuckles and hide them momentarily under the table to wipe at them with a napkin.

"Could you have at least changed?" she snides.

"Why?" I take another chug of my water. "Sorry I don't carry a tuxedo in my backpack."

Pikachu bounces back to my shoulder, probably sensing the earthquake I'm about to cause with my sarcasm, and Misty shut sher eyes tightly, as if concentrating.

"Ash, this is a _very_ nice restaurant. You are wearing _jeans_. Don't you know anything?"

"Oh," I say, nodding to her. "Is that why you're all dressed up in that… thing?"

Her cheeks flame. "This _thing_ you're referring to is a Lorelei-inspired, Hoenn version original!"

"...I have no idea what that means."

"And I would never expect you to!" she shouts, and I wonder what we're even arguing about at this point. "I swear, you are the only guy on the planet that instead of complimenting a girl's appearance-you-you make her feel ugly!"

Now this is a strange statement. Not only does it sound like she wants me to compliment her for some reason, but it also sounds like she truly thinks she's ugly. And she isn't, not by a long shot, it's just something I've never voiced before for _reasons_.

I blink, watching her sad lips, wondering why the topic of Misty's appearance is the first thing we're talking about today in the first place.

"I didn't call you ugly," I say. "Or mean to make you feel that way. It's a… nice dress."

It is a nice dress, I repeat to myself, looking at it for what feels like the millionth time. Which is weird since I don't care about outfits. I tear my eyes away in time to see her stammer out a "thanks" and surrender her body to the chair in front of her.

I decide to change the subject since it's not one I'm the best at, and bring forth my best smile.

"It's so good to see you again! It's been, what, a year?"

"Seven months," she replies and then reddens as I eyeball her. "Your birthday."

"Oh yeah," I chuckle. "How's the gym? Must be doing pretty well to allow you to go on a vacation."

She's being kind of fidgety in her seat now-maybe the dress was constricting her airflow. Concerned, I glance to her neck, and observe her chest rise and fall. Wait- _wait_ -maybe _don't_ look there-

"Vacation?" Misty repeats, and I'm back to her face, feeling queasy from what just happened, but also miserably failing at forgetting it. "Ash, I'm only here for two days."

This triggers something inside of me, but what, I'm not sure. Anger? _She just got here!_ Fear? _There's not enough time!_ Sadness? _Don't leave yet..._

"You flew all the way from Cerulean to be here for _two days_? Why?"

There's something mysterious about the look in her eyes now. It's like they're-I don't know-shining? I lean a little subconsciously in her direction, but then the waitress returns with another refill for my water.

"Do you know what you'd like to eat?" She turns to Misty. "And, miss, we do offer tables inside if you prefer."

"What?!" I interject, knowing _of course_ that's what MIsty would prefer. She was already threatening to leave the country in two days, so she's not about to leave the _table._ Not when I have to convince her to stay longer-well, however long I'd be in town anyway.

"Excuse me, she's here with _me_ ," I continue. The waitress is shocked somehow and twists again to Misty, whose cheeks are redder than Pikachu's.

"I… apologize," the waitress clears her throat. "I will return with some bread."

And off she goes. Misty continues to let the red travel up her face, and she is averting my eyes at all cost. I lift an eyebrow. "Everything all right?"

She nods quickly. "Mm-hmm."

I smile at her, and even though she still isn't looking at me, she finally returns the favor. "Well, hey," I offer a gentle tone. "Two days or two weeks, we'll make the most of it. I'm still happy to see you."

I realize I've already said that, which makes me feel kind of stupid for some reason. But then Misty's smile stretches so wide it brings a tickly feeling to my chest. I instantly know I've said a good thing, not a stupid one.

"I'm happy to see you, too," she says softly, tucking a strand of hair behind an ear. Very out of character. I glance at Pikachu, who looks just as perplexed-and possibly concerned-as I feel.

"How was the flight?" I ask awkwardly before it gets too quiet.

She turns a page of the menu. "Oh, just fine."

Fine? That was it?

"Misty." she lifts her head, and I clear my throat before continuing, "You... you're acting funny."

She reddens _again._ "And you are acting completely _normal!_ " She says this in some kind of loud whisper, as if accusing me of something-which she wasn't. I don't think so anyways. _Shouldn't_ I be acting completely normal?

"Uh, yeah, so?"

She throws a hand to her forehead, appearing exhausted. "Never mind! I'll just-I'll be better! Just give me some time to process this-"

"Better? I didn't mean it negatively." I cock my head at her. "But I totally get it. The menu barely made any sense to me either-it's a lot to take in. There's no need to get so flustered over it, though. The waitress at least seems to like you and will probably help you with it."

She blinks. "What did you say?"

"The waitress." I motion to the inside. "She can explain-"

"No. Ash."

There is _so much_ blinking going on as she continues to stare.

"Are… are we not... " she begins to stutter. "This isn't what I thought this was, was it?"

"Thought what was what?"

She's blushing now. As if she's embarrassed. And I'm so, so confused.

"Oh my God," she whispers. "Why in the world would I ever think that you…" she trails off and starts to grab her belongings in a rush. I realize she's trying to leave and immediately panic.

"Whoa, whoa, you just got here! Where are you going?"

"I just-I have to go." she's still blushing like mad as she rises from her seat. But then on impulse, I grab her hand to drag her back. Her eyes meet mine, and she's terrified. Or some other expression I can't name.

"Please stay," I say, and she looks like she's going to cry or something. I brace myself for a tear or two to escape from her eyes, but it doesn't happen. Her eyes are sparkling-but not from tears?

"Ash," she whispers, and then she squeezes my hand.

Simple, right? Wrong. Let me tell you something about this hand squeeze. It's like Pikachu has thundershocked me from the inside or something. I'm a little dizzy and taken aback from it, and now painfully aware of how close I brought Misty's face towards mine when I originally grabbed her.

Everything inside of me is squirming, buzzing, _frying,_ and like-I don't know-dying?-and there's so much warmth in my cheeks-am I _blushing?_

"Uh." Now it's my turn to blink, and not wanting to pass out from whatever I'm experiencing, I drop her hand. It falls to her side in slow motion, and I gaze at it in wonder. "Misty… What's going on?"

It's an honest question, but she looks at me like I've asked something horrible. My stomach decides to perform some more acrobats I didn't know it could do.

"Ash, why did you invite me here?"

She answers my question with a question. It's not helpful. It makes me really question my sanity actually, as now I'm coming up with a lot of jumbly sentences I don't know how to form.

They come out of my mouth something like this: "Well, I, uh, I knew you always wanted to go to Kalos. You like French things. And then-well, that pilot owed me a favor, and he agreed he'd fly you here. And this restaurant has received good reviews, so I figured-"

"So, you figured that you just wanted to fly _me_ here? Of all people?"

She sounds suspicious of me. I feel woozy. Maybe I'm dehydrated. But I've downed fourteen glasses of water.

"Well, yeah, it's Kalos, and you like French things, and-"

"When you called me, you said…." she pauses. "On the phone, you asked…"

She doesn't finish for some reason, so I try to help.

"I asked if you wanted to go out sometime." I shrug as I say it, and she becomes so, so red. I don't understand.

"Ash… do you even _hear_ yourself?"

"...I'm sorry, Misty, I still don't-"

She huffs to stop whatever jibberish I'm about to say, and she's looking very voltrob-like with her redness at this point, which might mean she's about to explode.

"You. Are. UNBELIEVABLE!"

She does explode, but more like a lightning storm as she stomps away, each shoe hitting the pavement with such force I'm surprised it doesn't crack. Had I done something wrong? The only thing I could think of was that maybe she wanted to keep holding my hand, because I was ashamedly still kind of thinking about that hand squeezing feeling-so maybe I shouldn't have let it go, because then she'd still at least _be here_ -

"I'm assuming you won't be ordering then?"

The waitress pops back up, smirking. I glare at her, take another swig of my water, and take off.

"Misty! Wait up!"


	2. Part 2

**Two Days.**  
Part 2.

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If a human can use Agility, it's Misty.

She rampages down the street with the speed of a rapidash, and honestly kind of looks like one with that hair of hers. I can't seem to keep up at all and neither can Pikachu who actually _knows_ Agility. I stop yelling her name after my fiftieth attempt, at which point I begin to feel as angry as she looks. Which, you know, is crazy because I still don't know what this argument is even about, or why the girl who received a _free trip to Kalos_ is currently running away from the guy who provided said trip.

I assume we've reached her hotel when she practically throws herself inside its revolving glass doors. She rushes to the elevator, turns around to face me once inside, but before she can shut Pikachu and I out, I've extended my arms to block the closing doors.

"What is going on?!" I try again, and she glares so hard I think she might zap me with some other pokemon techniques I'm not aware she has.

"Leave me alone," she growls and lunges at a button in the elevator that I assume forcibly closes the doors, but again my arms prevent it.

"This is crazy! You're acting insane!"

She may explode again by that look in her eyes, and I'm wondering if the hotel knows that having Misty here with them might be a fire hazard. Perhaps I should use the stairs?

" _Leave me alone_ ," she repeats and presses the button a second time, and the door slams hard against my hand. Although painful, I continue to hold it steady.

"Why in the world would I leave you alone when I invited you here?!" I shout, and she huffs, folding her arms. Usually that's a sign that I've made a good point, and I'm somewhat proud of myself.

"Because you're an idiot, Ash Ketchum," she answers, which still doesn't make sense. Her fingers dance back to the button beside her, and this time, instead of holding the doors, I jump inside the elevator with her. Her glowering falters; her eyes bulge.

"What are you doing?"

"If you're not gonna eat with me, I'll just have to hang out with you in your room." I shrug. Pikachu chirps in agreement.

"You're not coming into my room."

"I think I am."

"No. You're _not._ "

I glance at the buttons, noticing the number "4" lit up in green. "I already know what floor you're on. Halfway to figuring it out anyway!"

She grits her teeth. "I said you're _not_ coming to my room."

"Then come to dinner with me," I demand, and she pinks in surprise. Pikachu also voices his agreement with a loud, " _Pika pika!"_ which I think is a nice touch since she's never been immune to his charm.

But this time, it's not enough.

" _No._ "

It's then the elevator dings to signal we've stopped, but Misty makes no move to leave when the doors finally open. Taking a deep breath, I quip, "Your room it is!" and loop an arm through hers to drag her out. She turns red again, and as she buckles against me, her hair brushes my nose, and I catch a familiar scent of chlorine. I want to smile, but keep it to myself. No matter what Misty looks like, hair up or down, she always smells the same.

There are signs in front of us that direct us to particular hotel room numbers, and as I begin to examine them, Misty almost scrambles from my grasp. Almost.

" _Ash!_ This is-what are you-"

"So which room is it? Probably gotta be a good one for you to skip out on dinner with me after all. Is it one of those fancy suites? Never stayed in one before. I've always wondered, though-do they have actual sweets? Like candy?"

She pauses from attempting to pry herself from my arm, and then she does the strangest thing yet and bursts out laughing. I'm so confused, but grateful for a change in her demeanor nonetheless and unhook our arms to look at her. That smile of hers is so contagious that I can't stop the one conquering my lips. I'm not even sure what's funny. She was going to kill me two seconds ago, right?

"Hotel suites don't mean sweets, Ash," she says, still grinning. "Seriously, is food all you think about? Still? After all this time?"

"You're the one making me skip dinner," I point out, and she rolls her eyes. "Which I still don't get why we're doing in the first place."

She seems to be thinking hard about what to say. I wonder if she even knows why she left the restaurant. Girls are such strange creatures. It's crazy they don't come with their own pokedex. It would be at least mildly useful to point my own at Misty right now and ask for guidance.

Her fingers are toying with a strand of her dress, and I raise an eyebrow because something clicks.

"Wait. Were you… embarrassed? Because I didn't dress up? Is that why you left?"

Her silence stings. I glance at my muddy shoes, the holes in my jeans, and compare them to her spotless outfit. Truth be told, I would have never guessed Misty to be wearing anything other than her normal tanktop and shorts, and maybe if she'd mentioned a dress, I could have… I don't know-combed my hair? Hers is at least down and wavy, nestling neatly around her face...

 _Too pretty to be seen with me_ , I think, and an odd lump forms in my throat as if I'm thirsty again. I mean, okay, yeah, Misty isn't ugly. I'm cool with thinking that. I've covered this in my brain many times since she's constantly reminding me that she thinks herself as an attractive person. Anytime I'd argue seemed pointless because I couldn't think of _what_ I'd describe her as. But right now it seems I'm actually giving a name to the description. Pretty? _No way, no how,_ would I _ever_ call her-

She smiles gently, blinks in what feels like slow motion, and I am very, very, uncertain of how to describe her anymore because pretty doesn't seem to cut it.

"No," she says, shaking her head, but I'm not sure I believe it and find myself observing her eyes very closely. I need to know what I think of her now; the unknown has always beckoned to me after all. Whatever word I'm thinking of reminds me of discovering a new pokemon… or like, like, the mega evolution of a charizard… winning a gym badge? A pokemon league? No, no... somehow… _more_.

Her expression morphs to resemble the squiggly mouth of a mimikyu.

"Ash?"

I blink, wondering how much time has passed and why I am so concentrated on these weird thoughts about her. "Uh, sorry. Trying to figure out something."

"Okay," she sounds as if she doesn't believe me.

"I mean-like-I know how I look." I awkwardly pull at my jacket, which is stained with who knows what. "And you-you're… You look good." And then I want to die because my face flames. Somehow that word is worse than 'pretty.'

"Oh," she squeaks. "Thanks."

I'm so incredibly awkward right now, and I can't even explain why. I even momentarily forget Pikachu is riding on my shoulder until I hear him clear his little throat to bring me back to planet earth.

"Oh!" I say, clearing mine as well. "Well, if you want to go back to the restaurant, we can totally do that. Maybe I can clean myself up a little. And-and we can start over! And this time I won't do whatever it is that made you so upset."

She studies me. "Where are you staying?"

Odd question, but I answer anyways. "Uh, the Pokemon Center."

"The Pokemon Center doesn't have a shower. You need to _bathe_ , Ash Ketchum," she snides. "No offense, but you _stink_." And then she half-smiles at me, and although she's being insulting, I kind of feel fired up in a good way somehow, and grin back at her.

"I'm sure there's a lake around here somewhere!"

"Oh no. You are not gonna smell like a lake either. I may love water, and half of the time I may even smell like a pool-"

 _You mean all of the time_ , my brain corrects.

"-but I do _not_ like the smell of swamp people. Use the shower in my room. And then maybe we can get dinner."

"Oh wow, that would be great! Thank you so much, Misty!"

She's embarrassed again or something because there's even more pink tinting her cheeks, but she mutters a, "No problem," as we begin to descend down the hallway. When we enter the room, Pikachu launches himself onto the bed.

"Chaaaa!" he practically sings, and I feel a little bad that we haven't had a proper sleeping arrangement in awhile.

I'm about to offer him an apology when I notice the floor of the room.

There are what I can only assume to be a _billion_ clothes just thrown about. I raise my eyebrows, but Misty doesn't seem to notice my apprehension and walks right on by me. "Shower's on the left," she says, sitting herself down next to Pikachu to offer him some ear scratches.

"Misty," I begin, still gazing at the mess around me. "I thought you were only staying for two days."

"What?" she asks, and then seems to jump to her feet. "Oh! I, um, I wasn't sure what… the weather would be like?" She seems to be guessing an answer to a gameshow. I look at her with a cocked head.

"This is a lot of outfits. I didn't even know you owned all of this."

I've made her uncomfortable again. She's stammering. "Okay, well, I, uh, maybe I didn't know what to wear?"

"That's never been an issue before-"

"Sometimes I want to look nice!"

"But you already look nice," I reply, and her frazzled-ness continues as she grips worriedly onto her dress again.

"I-I wanted-" she seems to be shaking, and I'm getting scared she might pass out. "I wanted to look nice."

"You already said that."

She takes a giant breath. "I wanted to look nice… for you."

I think I blink maybe ten thousand times at her statement. Her face practically matches her hair at this point.

"For me?" I repeat. "You know as well as I do that I don't care if-"

"UGH!" she practically throws her hands up in the air. "You are seriously the densest person on the planet!" she is angry and overheating again, and I also am beginning to wonder why she came here if she gets mad at me this much over things. She rushes to the bathroom and slams the door shut. "You're going to die alone, Ash Ketchum! You hear me? ALONE!"

I don't know why my inevitable one-day death is being brought up, but this is Misty. Then again, I _think_ this is Misty. She is acting more bizarre around me than normal, dressed up for maybe the third time I've ever seen, and now she is trying to tell me that Pikachu won't be by my side when I die.

"I thought I was going to shower," I tell her, and she shrieks from the other side.

* * *

Soooo this is turning out longer than I thought, but I am really enjoying writing from Ash's POV as he figures out his feelings. I personally love stories that characterize him well, so I'm trying to replicate that as best as I can.

I hope to only have three or four parts at most, but I also have a lot of ideas suddenly… oops?


	3. Part 3

Finally updating. I have no real excuse for taking so long, but I hope you like and review anyway. :)

* * *

Two Days, part three

By Chiqueachu

* * *

This trip with Misty was giving me such a headache I now could truly empathize with her Psyduck. She was so hot and cold, which is not necessarily a new trait about her, but today she was taking this to a whole new level. One minute she was smiling at me with what looked like stars in her eyes-a look I've come to appreciate and memorize today-and the next I was convinced those eyes could spew lava and devour me whole.

Gathering my courage to start what is sure to be another confusing argument, I'm interrupted by a short ding behind me. Misty's phone. Pikachu watches me glance over at it and shakes his head, as if to tell me to mind my business because if Misty's mad now, it won't be fixed when she finds me snooping through her stuff.

Raising an eyebrow and simultaneously peeking towards the closed bathroom door, I go against my furry best friend's wishes and pick the phone up. Pikachu makes a "tsk, tsk" sound and folds his arms over his chest. I ignore it-I figure she's already going to kill me for whatever mystery reason, so if curiosity killed the Meowth, it wouldn't be changing my destiny anyways.

But when I lift the phone, my future does feel uncertain after all. Misty might not have to kill me since the sentence I'm reading drains all of my blood from my body.

In giant, flashing, bolded letters, I see the following:

 **'LIKE HOW IS THE DATE GOING LITTLE SIS?!'**

 _...Date?_

I drop the phone, but it lands securely onto the bed. Pikachu perks up to meet my eyes in rather obvious concern. I must look as sick as I suddenly feel. But almost as soon as it began, the emotion vanishes. In its place is something that feels hot and red and violent. Something I'm more unfortunately familiar with.

My cheeks are puffing just as much as my chest as I pound a fist against the bathroom door.

"What?!" she cries, and I am even more upset with her because she thinks she has the _audacity_ to pretend to _not_ know. Everything made sense all at once. No wonder she's upset with me-but at the same time, _I'm_ the one who should be upset!

"A date?!" I yell. "Really?"

She's quiet for a moment before she answers. "Well… yeah! I thought you knew!"

I glance back to Pikachu, whose mouth is also ajar in surprise. "I definitely did not!"

"Obviously!" she shouts back, and I'm even angrier because because how in the world am I supposed to know these types of girly things?!

"I'm just-ugh, I thought you were here to see _me!_ " I say in exasperation. "But this makes so much more sense. The dress, the make-up, your hair-"

" _Ash_ -"

"No no no, let me finish! This is insane. You used me for a free date!"

"...What? That doesn't make any sense-"

"I flew you here for _free_ and you are _going on a date! I_ didn't even knew you knew anyone in Kalos! Who is it? Who?!"

Whatever I've said causes the door to creak open, but at a hesitant pace. Once unveiled, I see that her eyes are narrowed so I choose to glare right on back. She thought she was so smooth. Using a free trip to Kalos to go see some other stupid guy. A guy who had no idea the effort Misty was obviously putting forth to look nice for him. Ugh. I feel sick again.

"Ash," she says in a hiss. "I'm telling you. I'm not here to see anyone else."

And _now_ she has the gall to continue to lie?!

"Is it Clemont?" I ask and then gasp at the realization. He even knew everything about Prism Tower, one of the places I had planned on touring with Misty while we were here, because she was always yapping on about it! Everything was coming together now, and for some reason I am dangerously close to puking over it.

"I mean, I know I talked him up at my birthday," I go on, "but I didn't think you, you know, that you guys would end up… _knowing_ each other."

She raises an eyebrow, probably in response to the disgusted expression crinkling my face, but I still interrupt whatever other lie she's about to retort with:

"Oh, great, Misty, this is just _greeaaat_. I mean, I was planning on seeing him and Bonnie while I was here, but now I have to, like… watch him take you out some place? He could've paid for your trip, you know. I should _not_ even be a part of this. I shouldn't have to see this. But I'm _sure_ the two of you will be happy together. Go figure-a gym leader and a gym leader. Perfect. Original. Really, Misty? _Really?_ I thought-I just-"

"ASH!"

I blink at her, realizing I hadn't even been on planet Earth for the last few minutes. The bathroom door swings open fully, and there's red tinting her nose, and she looks a little uncomfortable with whatever she's about to say.

"I am not here to see Clemont," she says firmly, and the clenching of my fists relaxes. Her tone makes me believe her this time, so I no longer feel the need to go find Clemont and punch him.

"I am here…" she pauses, and almost stutters, and I'm hanging on to her words, knowing I'll have to throw up when she tells me about her true suitor. But she remains silent in her words, staring at the floor now. I glance back at Pikachu, who is cocking his head, and I know we're both lost at this point.

When she finally looks up, there is a fire in her eyes I've never seen before. Not the anger kind either. She kind of looks like she is in the middle of a battle and is about to shout out some new impressive move for Starmie to use on its opponent. But it's just me she's looking at. I half wonder if I should reach for one of the pokeballs in my belt.

"...Misty?" I say quietly as she continues to gaze at me.

Everything happens so quickly in the next few seconds, I'm almost positive she was using Agility again.

She takes one step forward, brings a hand to my shirt, and drags my face to hers.

And our lips meet.

And Pikachu squeals something.

And I wonder if he's electrocuted me because it feels like sparks are going off inside my brain, and my heart, and my mouth-and-and-

And then it's over.

Her lips retract from mine, and a weird part of me almost grabs her to bring them back. The idea causes an intense amount of heat to burn my cheeks. It's a feeling I've never encountered, and I stare at her in awe.

She's blushing. A lot. Like her skin is all red now.

I don't know what I look like, but I imagine the same. I am stunned and can't breathe or speak to be honest.

"I'm here to see _you_ , you idiot," she says in another hiss, and then the bathroom door slams shut again.

I slowly twist to Pikachu, who has his hands over his mouth, but there's no question that he's giggling.

"Did-Did Misty just…?"

"Pi _pikachu!_ " he shrieks in delight, and his ears and tail both wiggle.

I look at the door, and a wave of faintness consumes me, and I have to wonder if this is how pokemon feel when they're defeated in battle. It can't be, though, because I don't really feel defeated. I feel quite the opposite. Triumphant maybe? There's even this strange voice in my brain chiding at me like, _'If this is a battle, you should probably force open that door and begin round two.'_

I'm shaking my head to myself, gulping, and almost falling over because my legs wobble all the way over to the bed. When I do sit down, I take my first real breath since the…

….uh, _incident_.

My mind is spinning. Spinning so fast it reminds me of bicycles… a bicycle I promised to pay back to a girl hellbent on following me until I did. The girl who yelled at me, hit me, told me countless times how much I annoyed her…

... but also the girl who encouraged me, lifted me up when my negativity got the best of me, overall took care of me and saved my life in dire situations…

… the girl who told me goodbye in order to return to the Cerulean Gym, and when she did, a lump had formed in my throat that I never really swallowed because I never really got over it.

This girl is the same girl behind the bathroom door.

The same girl who kissed me.


End file.
